Vows, Confessions And Revelations
by 2remember
Summary: [Warning: Adult Language and situations] A sudden loss, a confession, and an unexpected revelation, all await Jeremie and Aelita on the day they waited all their lives for...
1. Prologue: Solo

The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.

* * *

"Tower, Cessna Niner Three Niner Golf Foxtrot turning from base to final, over." 

"Roger Niner Golf Foxtrot, the pattern is clear. Taxi to One Able after landing, over."

"Wilco Tower, Niner Golf Foxtrot clear."

Her hands were slick with sweat as she grasped the airplane's yoke, coordinating the three axes of the plane to complete her turn for the final approach to the runway. After completing the turn, she quickly brushed a wisp of pink hair out of her eyes. The easy part was over, now all she had to do was set the plane on the ground without crashing.

Aelita Hopper went over the landing checklist in her mind again, making sure she had done everything that her instructor had taught her. She couldn't find a fault, so she continued on in.

The road to the cockpit of the Cessna 175 she was piloting was about as strange as any a person ever had to walk. It started years ago with a computer, and wound its way through things Issac Asimov and Tom Clancy could barely imagine.

She pushed in on the throttle, slowing the plane down. She adjusted the nose of the plane up, maintaining lift as she slowed. She adjusted her flaps to help her descent, always running her landing checklist through her mind.

If ever there was a weird way of coming into aviation, it was Aelita's. In her senior year of college, she and some of her friends found themselves in a military transport, flying off to some god forsaken place, hunting down terrorists, of all things. During the flight, the flight crew showed the girl the controls of the plane, explained how they worked, and even let her 'fly' for a bit during the return. After that day, Aelita was hooked.

She was now over the runway, about fifty feet off the ground, she powered down more, keeping the nose level until just before touchdown when she brought the nose up. There was a _thump!_ and the screech of the wheels turning on the ground again, she brought the nose of the plane down and applied the brakes. The small aircraft came to a stop about two thirds of the way down the strip.

Aelita let out a profound sigh of relief. _Any landing you walk away from is a good one, or so they tell me,_ she thought to herself. She applied a little power to the engine and made for taxiway 1A. From there, she taxied to the hanger where her instructor was waiting, along with other people.

She brought the plane to a stop, killed the engine, and completed her shutdown checklist. She then got out of the airplane and did a quick inspection of the craft. As she did, her instructor walked up to her.

"Ms. Hopper, give me your logbook and your cert," he said sternly. Aelita was surprised at his tone. She had thought she did everything correctly, was there something he saw that she didn't?

She handed the man her student flight certificate and flight log, her Holy Writ through the whole flight training experience, and waited for what would come next.

He took the book, examined it for a moment, then made a notation. He then made a similar notation on her flight certificate. He then handed them back to her and smiled. "Congratulations, Aelita, you just soloed."

With that, all of the people who had been watching whooped and shouted their congratulations. Her instructor turned her around, then pulled the tail of her shirt out of her pants. Then next thing she knew, she heard a _rrrippp!_ as he tore her shirt from the tail about half way up her back.

She walked back to the group of students who had observed the rite of passage, and received their congratulations and claps on the back.

Then she saw the rest of the surprise.

Her aunt and uncle, Marie and Desmond Hopper, stood there smiling. And with them stood one other, Jeremie Belpois. His blond hair and glasses caught her eye immediately, and she ran over to him and jumped in his arms.

"Did you see! I soloed!" she told him.

He hugged and kissed her as he replied, "yes, I did. It was the most frightening and wonderful thing I've ever seen. I'm proud of you, Aelita."

She broke from his embrace and was immediately hugged by her aunt, then her uncle. Jeremie stood by and let her relatives congratulate her.

"Well, Belpois, when are we going to get you up there alone," the instructor asked as he walked up.

"That's up to you, isn't it?" he replied, "not today, that's for sure. I've got something else I've got to take care of first."

Jeremie then turned back to Aelita. He took her and turned her around. The first thing he did was give her another shirt to wear, since another tradition of the flight school was to hang the torn shirt of those who soloed on the wall at the school. She smiled as he did, realizing that she was probably the only one who was surprised by her solo flight assignment today. Then Jeremie's face changed. He got a worried look, like he wasn't sure of what her reaction would be to something.

"Ah, Aelita?", he started "I've got something I have to ask you. I know this is a bad time, but with what's been going on the past few weeks, I couldn't think of a better time to do this."

He lowered his head a moment, like he was afraid or ashamed of what he had to say next. His hands fumbled in his pockets, a nervous habit Aelita had seen in others, but never in Jeremie. Finally he raised his head back up, and there was a huge smile on his face. He pulled his hands out of his pockets, and one of them contained something, a small velvet covered box.

"Aelita, would you marry me?"

And Aelita thought today couldn't get any better.

"Of course I will, silly! It's about damn time you asked!"


	2. Preparations

The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.

* * *

The pink haired young woman sighed as she closed the document on her terminal screen. She never realized how much paperwork was involved in saving the world! Her thoughts were interrupted when someone knocked on the door frame of her office. She looked up and smiled.

"So, is the world safe once more?" asked the blond-haired young man standing in the door way.

"Yes," she replied, "and the good news is, they're not going to prosecute."

Odd Della Robbia laughed as he walked in. "Everything ready for Saturday, Aelita?"

"It sure doesn't seem so, Odd," Ms. Aelita Hopper said as she leaned back in her chair and stretched, "I'm still not sure I've got everything done. My dress, the chapel, banquet hall, I'm sure I'm missing something somewhere."

"Well, I've got a little good news for you, Ulrich called me earlier today. They'll be landing this afternoon."

"That's great! I wasn't sure they'd be able to, with everything that's going on."

"Yeah. They'll be staying with Sissi and me."

"Odd, yours and Sissi's place is so small, one of you has to leave in order to change their mind."

Odd laughed. "Just kidding, 'Lita. They're actually staying with Ulrich's mother."

"Good," she replied.

"Well, anyway, the reason I stopped by is to make sure when the rehearsal is tonight."

"6 pm. Are we going out to dinner afterwards?"

"Well, I don't know about you and the girls, but us guys are going to give Einstein a real good send off!"

"Odd Della Robbia, you had better not get my fiancé so drunk I have to bail him out of jail. My wrath will be terrible to behold if you do!"

"Oh, my Princess! I Tremble at Your Anger! Forgive this Insignificant Fool!" Odd laughed again and turned to go.

"6 o'clock, Odd!" Aelita called as he left.

"Yeah, yeah," Odd said as he walked back to his Studio down the hall.

Aelita waited until Odd had left, then picked up her phone and called Sissi Delmas to make sure she knew to bring Odd at 6 pm.

* * *

Later, Aelita returned home and sat down at the computer terminal in her study. Jeremie and Odd had run a dedicated data line from the Hermitage to the supercomputer at the Old Factory Building a while back and it made the response time in her at home as good as in the computer lab there.

She logged in and opened a window. After a few seconds, a graphic of a man's face resolved in the window.

"Hello, Papa," Aelita said.

"Hello, darling," the man replied, "how did things go today."

"Okay. The world is once again a safe place because The Paperwork Is Done."

"I'm sure that one day your reporting will be hailed as the secret to Lasting Peace." He smiled.

Aelita chuckled, "if only." Then she sighed.

"What's wrong, child?"

"I want you here, Papa. I want you to walk me down the aisle Saturday. I want you to see me marry the man I love."

"But I will, Princess. Jeremie has already worked it out with the church and the reception hall. I'll be able to see everything."

"But it won't be the same, Papa! I want you to _be_ there. I want to hold your hand, feel you kiss my cheek. I want you to dance with me." Tears started to form in Aelita's eyes.

"I know, honey. I wish I could do those things too. But I'm content with just watching from Lyoko with Zoe and the others. Seeing it is enough, considering how close it came to not happening."

Aelita remembered back to the day that the computer virus, XANA, escaped the virtual world of Lyoko. It drained all of her memories to get the access keys it needed to escape, then left her for dead. Her father, Franz Hopper, saved her by recovering her memories. The price he paid for that, though, was he could never leave Lyoko. Never.

A chime sounded on her terminal.

"Oh, it's five o'clock. I'd better get ready!"

Aelita started closing windows on her terminal, "I'm sorry, Papa, I really have to go."

The image of Franz Hopper smiled at his daughter. "I understand, Aelita. We'll talk later. I love you."

"Love you, too, Papa," Aelita said, then closed the window. She brushed the tears from her cheek, and got up to change.

* * *

At the Old Factory Building, down in a sub-level not on the building's blueprints, a young man was looking at a computer terminal identical to the one Aelita Hopper just got up from. On it, a window opened up and the graphic image of Franz Hopper resolved itself.

"Maybe you should have gone ahead and told her," the young man said to the image.

"No, I think it will be okay, Jeremie. I don't want to get her hopes up, then dash them if this doesn't work."

"But I really believe I've got it this time! I just know we can get you back!"

"If the last six times were any indication, I wouldn't be so cocky, young man."

"Alright," Jeremie replied, "but I still think I've got it this time. Actually, I'd be willing to try it now if it wasn't for the fact we can only keep you devirtualized for forty-eight hours."

"It's eighteen hours and you know it, Jeremie. The rest of the time I was comatose and my vital signs started deteriorating. If you and that Della Robbia character hadn't smuggled me out of the emergency room, I might be dead or worse now. No, we stick to the original plan. I will be devirtualized at noon on Saturday. I'll go to the service, then return to Lyoko. Have you talked with Desmond?" he asked, referring to his brother.

"Yes sir. I gave him the information you gave me. Marie says she'll be here to make any last minute alterations to the tux, so we're good."

"Great. My first time out of Lyoko and I have to wear a damned monkey suit!"

"Just think of the look on Aelita's face when she sees you in it, that should help."

"It does, my son, it does."

* * *

"Okay, everybody! That should do it for tonight. See you all on Saturday," Father Louis Benoit shouted to the wedding party. The rehearsal had gone well, considering the group.

Aelita Hopper and Jeremie Belpois, the bride and groom, were a fine couple. He had spoken with both of them on many occasions over the years. Though they did not attend services as regularly as they ought, they would still seek out his counsel when ever the need arose, like when they decided to marry.

Ulrich and Yumi Stern, the best man and matron of honor, were nice people too, though Mr. Stern seemed a little withdrawn at times. It was hard to believe, since he was some kind of international sales representative or something. Mrs. Stern was a beautiful lady, tranquil like a calm ocean breeze. Though he didn't spend much time with them, he did see Mr. Stern's mother frequently, and had been her spiritual counselor for years.

The other two, however...

Mr. Odd Della Robbia and Ms. Elizabeth Delmas, were a mischievous pair, the kind of mischievousness that they should have grown out of in childhood. Father Benoit was surprised that Mr. Della Robbia hadn't landed himself in prison by now, given some of the things he heard. Ms. Delmas wasn't, quite, as reckless as Della Robbia, but still, those two could make a stone cry at times! It didn't help in Father Benoit's mind that they were living together outside of wedlock. Their saving grace in Father Benoit's eyes was that they attended services frequently.

_Lord, grant me the courage to change what I can, the grace to accept what I cannot, and the wisdom to tell the difference. And could I have a side of patience with that?_ With that, Father Benoit turned to go.

"Father? Wait, " Jeremie called as Father Benoit turned to go.

"Yes, my son?"

"Could I speak with you privately for a moment?"

"Certainly Jeremie, come right this way."

Jeremie and Father Benoit walked out of the sanctuary, and into Benoit's office, then shut the door.

"I wonder what that's about, do you know?" Aelita asked.

"Ohhh, nothing," Odd replied, "probably just some pre-wedding jitters."

"Don't worry about Jeremie, 'Lita. We, need to be going," Sissi said excitedly.

"Going, where?"

"Well, since Odd and the boys are going out partying, I thought we'd have a girls' night out party, too. You know, like a sleep over! Pajamas, a little wine, a little dishing..."

"I don't know, Sissi. I've still got work tomorrow and..."

"Come on Aelita, it'll be fun! Please?" Sissi pleaded.

"How about it Aelita, it's a been while since we all got together. I'll make sure you don't drink too much," Yumi chimed in.

"Well, alright..."

"Great! let's get over to your place! I've got the food, wine and everything. We're gonna have a blast!" Sissi ran out of the sanctuary, "C'mon!"

"I love her and all, but she hasn't grown up yet, has she," Yumi said to Aelita as they walked out to their cars. Aelita shook her head in agreement.

When the girls had left, Odd turned to Ulrich and asked, "did you bring it?"

Ulrich nodded. "Yep. I had to send it in a diplomatic pouch because I wasn't sure I could get it through customs." Contrary to what most people believed, Ulrich Stern was not an international sales rep.

"I wouldn't think anyone would mind so much, it's just a..."

"Some of the countries we had to travel through might have taken a different view of it," Ulrich replied, "and Japan might have decided is was some kind of historically significant art work. I'm surprised Yumi's family had it for so long."

"'Lita and Jeremie are going to crap when they see that!" Odd laughed.

"I just hope that they will still be talking to us after you pull off you little stunt," Ulrich told Odd.

Just then, the door to Father Benoit's office opened, and Jeremie walked out.

"Does Aelita know what Jeremie's planning?" Ulrich asked Odd as Jeremie walked up.

"Not a clue," Jeremie replied before Odd could, "I just hope I can pull it off."

"What part?" Odd asked.

"Both."


	3. Boy's Night Out

The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.

* * *

"I am not going, and that's that!" Jeremie stubbornly said. 

"C'mon Jer, it's not going to kill you," Ulrich said, "Odd says he's been there many times, and it's nice."

"And Odd's recommendation makes it okay how?" the genius retorted, "it's still a strip club."

"Einstein, I knew you were prudish, but I never realized how much," Odd said, "all we're gonna do is go in, have a few drinks and watch the show. Besides, Angel is on tonight, and you don't want to miss her show, it's great!"

Jeremie looked at his friend. He knew Odd has a wild streak in him, but never thought he would frequent these kinds of places. Well, not any more. _I thought he was in a more stable relationship with Sissi,_ he thought to himself.

"Odd, would you take Sissi there?" he asked, hoping to set Odd straight.

"Sure, we've been there dozens of times," Odd replied, "as a matter of fact, the manager loves it when we both show up, because by the end of the night, Sissi's up there dancing herself! He's offered her a job like six times already; the only reason she never took him up on it was because we only do it for our own fun, and because we have more important things we have to take care of."

_Great._ Jeremie turned to his other friend, hoping for a last minute save. "Ulrich, would you take Yumi to a place like that?"

"No, but that's because the opportunity never came up. Jer, Yumi has been known to walk on the wild side a few times. She's done some things that surprise even me. A strip club might not be too big a stretch for her."

"C'mon, Jeremie, you're not wiggling out of this," Odd said, "you need to pull your head out of whatever book you've been reading lately and see what's out there in the world, especially since you're probably not going to get another chance to see it!"

With that, Odd dragged Jeremie and Ulrich into a small place called Bumps and Grinds.

The place was a small, smoke filled bar, with a stage a one end. When they entered, a performer had just finished her routine, one that reduced her down to nothing but an elastic belt around her waist, stuffed with bills. She smiled and waived at Odd as she walked off.

"Hi, Rita! Good night, tonight!" he called to her.

"Real good, Roger!" she gaily replied, "buy me a drink later and I'll tell you 'bout it!"

"Can't, bachelor party coordinator," Odd replied.

They found themselves a booth in the back of the room. Odd ordered a mixed drink while Ulrich and Jeremie settled for beers.

A waitress soon came with their order, and squealed in delight when she saw Odd.

"Roger, what a surprise!" the girl said, "Where's Jessica?"

"At home, pining away for me," Odd replied, then laughed, "no, Angel, we're stag tonight. My friend here is getting married Saturday."

"Well, congratulations," the waitress Angel replied, "tell you what, in honor of the occasion, how 'bout I give you a private performance?"

"No, ma'am, you don't have to go to any trouble," Jeremie stuttered.

Odd piped up, "yeah, that'll be great! Don't worry about it Jer, it's my treat!"

"Odd..."

"Jeremie, I want you to trust me on this," Odd said, suddenly serious, "Angel is a good friend of mine and Sissi's. She's not going to do anything to you that you'll regret Aelita finding out about, I promise."

"Besides, it's already paid for," Ulrich said. Jeremie looked in shock at him. "We all pitched in, Yumi and Sissi too, because we think you would really enjoy it."

"C'mon, blushing groom," Angel said, "the sooner we get started, the sooner you can finish being embarrassed."

The woman took Jeremie by the hand and led him to a hallway near where they were sitting. Some of the customers whooped and whistled as they went by.

* * *

The room she showed Jeremie into was a small room, about five by ten. Against one wall was a line of seats, on the other a dance floor. Angel led Jeremie to the seats and had him sit down. She then went back and shut and locked the door. 

Then next thing she did surprised Jeremie. She walked over to the seats, sat down and looked at him.

"I've heard you have a little problem," she said without preamble.

"What!"

"Your friends told me that you have a little problem when it comes to women," Angel said.

"I don't have a problem with women," Jeremie replied, starting to get very nervous.

Angel smiled. "Well, maybe not women, but one woman in particular, your fiancé."

"I don't understand..."

"Let's cut the crap, Jeremie. Odd told me about your problems with Aelita, how you won't have sex with her. I've also talked to Ulrich, who was a lot more evasive about the subject, so I suspect you confided in him at some point. Odd didn't tell you this, but I'm more than just a stripper, I'm a psychologist. I work with couples who have problems with their sexuality."

"I don't have a problem with my sexuality, because I haven't had sex," Jeremie said.

"In today's society, that could be construed as a problem," Angel said, "I understand you and Aelita broke for a while a few years back. Why?"

"I'm not sure that's any of your business," Jeremie said flatly.

"Okay, I won't push," the woman replied. After a moment, she said, "Odd means well, but I think he screwed up this time."

"He damn sure did," Jeremie replied, getting up to leave.

"Jeremie, wait," Angel said, "I know he went too far, but it's because he cares for the both of you. If you would, let me say this: sooner or later you're going to have to confront whatever demon it is that's keeping you from being intimate with Aelita. If you don't, your marriage won't last the year, or if it does, you'll both be miserable. Now you look like a good kid, and I don't seeing good kids get hurt by life. The sooner you face whatever it is you've been avoiding, the better off you will be. And if it's something big..."

"What?"

"Then maybe you had better not marry her. It's your choice."

* * *

Jeremie walked back out into the bar, to applause, shouts and congratulations. Jeremie walked back over to the table Odd and Ulrich was sitting at. He didn't say a word, he just punched Odd in the face, turned and left. 

Odd shook his head, clearing it, then started out after his friend. He caught up with Jeremie just outside of the door.

"Jeremie, Wait! What happened?" he called out.

"Odd, don't talk to me right now," Jeremie said levelly, clearly controlling his anger, "right now, I want to beat the crap out of you worse than anything in the world. I do _not_ need your help with my problems, nor do I need professional help. I'll definitly regret what I did in the morning and apologize, but right now, I'm mad."

"But, Jeremie, I only wanted to help," Odd said weakly.

"I know, and that's why I not kicking the crap out of you right now," Jeremie replied, "but you dragged a stranger into my business, and I don't appreciate it."

"Jer, the only reason I did it was because she helped me," Odd said, "look, Sissi and I have always been a little wild when it comes to sex, and some of the things were heading into scared the both of us. We both remember what happened to Ulrich's mom, and we don't want that to happen to us. Anyway, one night, we were having a good time here. We were both more drunk than we would admit, and were doing some stupid stuff, stuff with other people. Well, we met Angel, and talked her into coming home with us. She did, and almost literally scared the crap out of us. We both passed out not knowing if we would ever wake up."

"The next morning, we woke up to Angel looking at us. When we woke, she said, 'it that what the two of you really want to do with your lives? Was the risk worth the fun?'"

"She spent the rest of the morning talking with us, about where we were going with our actions. She chewed us out for running headlong into things that had rules we didn't know about, rules that keep a person from getting really hurt. Since then, we've ratcheted it back, a lot. When we get a mischievous streak in us, we come here. You don't know this, but Angel owns The Bumps and Grinds. She runs it so people who are a little adventurous can come and play and be safe. Her coming home with us was her way of pulling us out of a bad situation."

"Odd, I never knew," Jeremie said.

"Of course not, we've never been ones to air our dirty laundry," Odd said, "and despite what you may think, we keep our sexcapdes private, for the most part. We don't party with couples and we don't sleep around. Beyond that, pretty much anything goes."

"What about in there? People talked like they knew you."

"Like I said, we go there a lot. We've even been known to get up on stage and dance, and not just on amateur nights or when we've had too much to drink. Roger and Jessica are our stage names."

"Odd, just when I think you can't surprise me more, you do," Jeremie said, "look, I'm sorry I punched you in there, but you really shouldn't have done that. I know I have to confront my demons, and I will when the time comes. I didn't need a shrink to tell me that."

"Well, it was either this or what Sissi had in mind," Odd said, "she was all for me dragging you over to Aelita's where she and Yumi were going to hold you down while Aelita broke you in. Even I thought that was too much. Hey, are we still getting together to practice tomorrow night?"

"Yeah, I'm still not ready for Saturday. Odd, I'm really sorry about punching you earlier."

"Don't worry about it! I've had worse done to me by better than you."

* * *

Jeremie decided he would find his own way home that night. Odd went back in to Ulrich, and the two spent the evening watching the show. Finally it was late, the bar was closing down early, and the two men had to go and pick up their wives. 

They arrived at the Hermitage and went to the front door. Inside, they could hear the laughter of the ladies as they were enjoying themselves. Odd knocked, and was let in by Aelita, who was just a little bit unsteady on her feet. As they walked in, Aelita had a hopeful look on her face, hoping Jeremie had come with them. She got a crestfallen look when she saw he wasn't there.

The two men rounded up their wives, who were more drunk than they cared to admit, and took them home. As they left, Ulrich turned around to see Aelita sigh sadly as she shut the door.


	4. Girl's Night In

The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.

* * *

At the Hermitage that night, there was music playing and girl's laughter was in the air. Aelita, Sissi, and Yumi were sitting on the floor in the living room, eating cheese, drinking wine and dishing dirt.

"I swear, another ten seconds and we would have been caught bare-ass naked in that alley!" Sissi laughed, describing a romp she and Odd had a few weeks ago in New York City. She was wearing a pajama top that came down just below her breasts, and long pajama pants.

"Sissi, I'm surprised the both of you aren't in jail, given some of the stunts you two pull off," Yumi told the girl.

"What can I say? My man can be an animal sometimes." At that, all of the girls laughed, remembering the days when they had fought in Lyoko. "Yumi, you've never talked about how Ulrich is, so how 'bout it?"

"Part of the reason I haven't, Sissi, is because _you_ were chasing after him for all those years, and I didn't want to give you a reason to start up again. I've been away from Paris far too long to remember where I can safely bury bodies." Yumi smiled, and took another sip of wine, and smoothed the front of the kimono she was wearing.

"C'mon, I promise not to chase him without asking you first," Sissi wheedled.

"Let's just say I thank God very loudly every time we're together. Many times," Yumi smiled contentedly, "be a good little girl, Sissi, and maybe one day I'll tell you of the time Ulrich and I went poking around some old temples in India. What about you, Aelita, what's Jeremie like?"

Aelita blushed red, "I, don't know. We never have."

"Never?" both Yumi and Sissi exclaimed.

"What's the problem? In this day and age hardly anyone waits until they're married," Sissi said, "I remember you two really had a problem in college, but I thought you worked it out."

"I can understand it, but I'm kind of with Sissi on this one, 'Lita," Yumi added, "when I decided to get together with Ulrich, I sure didn't let a piece of paper or a ceremony stop me. Is there something, ah, wrong, with Jeremie?"

"I don't think so," Aelita replied, "I've always wondered if there's something wrong with _me_ that he doesn't find me, desirable. He says he does, and sometimes when we're together, I can feel his desire to do more, but he always breaks off in the end. That was the reason I almost broke up with him in college, I was so frustrated!"

"Hmm... Aelita, did Jeremie ever tell you what happened all those years ago after XANA escaped? About the dreams?" Yumi asked.

"No. I tried to get him to tell me once, right after it happened, but he never would. 'You're better off not knowing,' is what he told me."

"Well, he didn't tell me directly, but he did tell Ulrich. You both realize that, at that time, the dreams the boys had before that confrontation were worse than what we experienced?"

"Odd, told me a little," Sissi said. Aelita shook her head no.

"Well, they were. Blood, sex and violence mixed all together with despair. Any two would have been bad enough, but with all of them together, I'm surprised that they even made it through sane. And, Aelita, you need to know this, Jeremie's experience was the worst of the three."

"Worse, how?"

"That nightmare was the first wet dream Jeremie had ever had, and you were in it. He saw you literally torn apart and eaten during sex, and at the end, he was the one doing the devouring. He's probably afraid that if he lets himself go and makes love to you, he will do to you in real life what he saw in his nightmare."

"Oh my God."

"I had a somewhat similar problem with Ulrich. His nightmare wasn't quite as bad as Jeremie's, but it was still bad. And it became worse as the week wore on. As a matter of fact, the reason you found us that morning the way we were was because I had to break him free of that demon somehow."

"Did you?" Sissi asked.

"Yes, that day. But it took awhile longer to totally heal him," Yumi replied.

"Well, Odd has never had a problem like that," Sissi said.

"That's because Odd only saw you being staked out and carved up like beef. He was so stunned by what he saw, he bound himself to you for the rest of his life, without any guarantee you would reciprocate, just to make sure that it would never happen to you," Yumi replied.

"I know," Sissi replied wistfully, "and we've been happily married ever since that day. I still can't believe it sometimes."

"Yumi, what am I to do about Jeremie?" Aelita asked.

"Be gentle with him," Yumi replied, "reassure him that he is not the monster he saw in that dream, that you know he would never hurt you. Be patient, and be watchful. If it really becomes a problem after you're married, get help."

"'Lita, if you do need help, I know someone you can talk to," Sissi said seriously, "if you feel the need, let me know and I'll put you in contact with her."

They chatted on for a little while longer. Then it was two in the morning and they were more tipsy than they would admit. Odd and Ulrich arrived, picked up their wives, and left, leaving Aelita alone.

She shut the front door and smoothed the front of her nightshirt, the one with the picture of Einstein sticking out his tongue at the camera, and turned to go to bed.

* * *

The next morning, Friday, was a blur. Although it wasn't as bad as it could have been, Aelita did drink a little too much wine last night. Now, along with the butterflies flying formation in her stomach, there were little spiders wearing wooden shoes in her head, tap dancing.

She was able to survive the morning by doing mindless chores around the office. By lunch time, she had just about gotten over the worst of her headache.

She walked into the lounge to eat her lunch, when she saw someone over at one of the tables, eating his lunch and reading a book. She walked over to him.

"Care to show a girl a good time, sailor?"

Jeremie Belpois looked up from his book. "Hi, Aelita." He stood up and kissed her cheek, "how are things this morning."

"Manageable. Say, do you have something for a hangover? Something in a 9mm would probably do the trick."

"Top right hand drawer of your desk, if I remember correctly," Jeremie laughed and they both sat down.

"More festive than you were planning? I thought Yumi promised to keep you sober."

"Well, maybe she thought I drank just enough," Aelita replied, "though I'm going to have to check her drunk-o-meter to see if it's calibrated correctly. How was your night?"

"It could have been better. Odd and Ulrich took me to a strip club."

"Huh?" the girl replied.

"That's right, a strip club. It was Odd's idea, of course. Anyway, they not only took me in, they arranged for a dancer to put on a private show."

"And how was it," Aelita flatly said.

"Embarrassing. I've never been so embarrassed in my life. As a matter of fact, I got up and walked out. If Odd looked a little beat up, it's because I punched him in the face before I left."

"Oh my God Jeremie! It wasn't that bad was it!"

"No, I know he was trying to help, and doing crazy stuff like this is traditional for a bachelor party, and I apologized a couple of minutes later. Look, I really don't want to talk about it anymore."

Aelita saw that Jeremie was serious, so she changed the subject, "Jeremie, have you got everything out of your apartment?"

Jeremie perked up. "Just about. I've got my clothes packed, and I've got a suitcase for the weekend. Odd and Ulrich said the would get the rest of my clothes over to the Hermitage this afternoon."

"What about the rest of you stuff?"

"A lot of it's downstairs. My workstation, manuals, notes and the like. Next week I'll start moving them in. You do have a place for them, don't you?"

"I told you, Jeremie, the study is big enough for both of us to have lots of office space. It won't be a problem. Now what about your furniture?"

"I'll be putting it into storage. I mean, you have the house furnished and decorated already, and..."

"That's not the point. The Hermitage is _our_ home, yours and mine. I want that reflected in it. Yes, we have some of the same pieces, and yes, some of your stuff is..."

"Junk."

"I was thinking, rustic myself, but regardless, your things belong there too, at least until we start picking things out together."

Jeremie glanced down at his watch, noted the time, and got up to go. "Well, back to the data mines," he said.

"Jeremie, will you come by tonight?" Aelita asked.

"I really shouldn't. There's some last minute work I've got to do downstairs to get ready for tomorrow. The last thing I want to happen is for the network connection to the computer to go down and your father to miss everything."

Aelita sighed, knowing that either Jeremie missed the hidden meaning of her question, or was intentionally ignoring it.

"Alright, but what about later?"

"I thought is was bad luck to see the bride before the wedding?"

"It was seeing the bride in her wedding dress before the wedding that's bad luck. And I wasn't planning on wearing it tonight. I was thinking about something, simpler."

Jeremie blushed and replied, "I can't promise you anything, 'Lita. If I wrap up early, I'll try to drop by." With that, Jeremie left.

Aelita watched him go, thinking about what he said, and what she found out from Yumi last night. _I hope that's the reason why, Jeremie, _she thought to herself,_ I'm really starting to fear that what we defeated years ago may have defeated you and I in the end._

As Jeremie walked away, he thought to himself, _even though what I told her was technically true, I'm still avoiding her. I can't avoid her much longer. But I still have to work with Odd and Sissi this evening; I'm still not hitting the notes quite right. What was I thinking_, singing_ to her tomorrow!_


	5. Vows

The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.

* * *

Saturday morning, Franz Hopper stood on the plains of the Desert Region, waiting to return to the real world. By him stood Zoe, his companion and more for all of these years. Around them, her children stood silently, almost reverently watching the scene unfold.

"Are you certain you want to do this," Zoe asked him, "it is still possible to change your mind."

"Yes, dear one, I am certain," he gently replied, "as much as I love you and your children, Lyoko isn't enough for me anymore. I have to do this."

"Franz, we're ready here," came Jeremie Belpois' voice from the air.

"Goodbye, all," Franz said. He drew Zoe into his arms one last time, kissed her tenderly and said, "thank you for all you've done."

Franz Hopper disappeared.

"You're welcome," Zoe replied, tears burning down her cheek.

* * *

Saturday morning came, and Aelita was a nervous wreck. The Day had finally arrived!

When she got home last night, she saw that Jeremie's clothes had indeed been dropped off, almost literally. It really looked like all Odd and Ulrich did was throw the boxes in the front door! Aelita made a mental note to kick Odd's ass up between his shoulders when she saw him next.

Sissi and Yumi arrived, along with Aunt Marie, to help Aelita get ready for the wedding. Yumi said they had dropped Odd, Ulrich Desmond and Jeremie off at the Old Factory Building before they came here. When Aelita asked why, all three women gave her odd smiles.

One thing she noticed when she got up in the morning was that the kitchen pantry had been stocked. Aelita didn't do it, and there was too much for just her and Jeremie, even for a week. But the girls arrived, things started happening, and she forgot all about it.

They arrived at the church at three in the afternoon. The wedding was scheduled for five. They found a room, and began preparing Aelita for the ceremony. The photographer arrived at the same time, and began setting up for his work.

Marie informed them at 4 o'clock that the boys had arrived. This started a little game of Try To See The Bride Before The Wedding. It was good natured fun, and the activity kept Aelita from getting more nervous that she already was.

Then, at about twenty minutes until 5 o'clock, there came a knock at the door.

Knock, knock... knock, knock... knock, knock.

The girls got strange looks on their faces.

"Aelita, you had better answer that," Marie said.

Aelita, dressed in her wedding gown, looked at the women.

"Is this more of that stupid game? It's almost time and I..."

"No, Aelita, it's a surprise," Yumi told her, "open it."

Aelita went to the door, contemplating just how she was going to fry those girls' livers if this was some kind of joke of Odd's, and opened the door.

She looked out, and was stunned. She took a step back and almost fainted.

Her father was standing in the hallway.

Her Father was standing in the hallway.

Her Father Was Standing In The Hallway!

She cried and jumped into his arms, "PAPA!"

"Aelita," he cried softly back, "it's good to hold you once more!"

Father and daughter held each other for a long time. They didn't notice that Ulrich, not the wedding photographer, was taking pictures of the two of them.

Finally, Aelita pulled back. The tears on her face had marred the makeup she had so carefully applied earlier. She pulled Franz Hopper into the room with her, with Ulrich close behind.

"Papa, how did this happen?" she asked.

"Jeremie and I have been working on this for a long time. Over the past six months, we nearly perfected the program. But I must tell you right now, Aelita, I can't stay long. We planned on my being here long enough for the wedding. After that, I may be pushing it."

"But why?"

"The theoretical limit I have is 48 hours. But we found out that after about eighteen hours, my mental control starts to collapse. I would fall into a coma, and couldn't be revived. Also, after that time, my body starts to deteriorate. We're afraid that if I go on much past eighteen hours, I might die before anyone could get me back to Lyoko. And remember, I've been missing and presumed dead for many years now, and my disappearance was under very odd circumstances when it happened. The government may still want to know if I turn up again. That's why Mr. Stern is taking the pictures and not the photographer."

"Papa, I don't care, as long as you're here now," Aelita said, hugging her father again.

There was another knock at the door, and Odd's voice filtered though it.

"It's just about time, people, let's get a move on!"

"Yes, let's," Franz Hopper told his daughter.

After Aelita fixed her makeup, the party walked out to the entrance to the sanctuary. Ulrich left the girls and went into the sanctuary, where the groom's party was standing and waiting.

The organ started, and the procession began.

Sissi, in her pink maiden's dress, entered first, taking a step, stopping for a moment, taking another, stopping, and repeating the march to the front. After a moment, Yumi, also in pink, began her march, using the same step. As soon as she had entered the sanctuary, the ushers closed the door.

Aelita and her father stood in front of the closed door, arm in arm, listening to the organ music within, waiting for the doors to open. Then the organ stopped, and Aelita could hear the rustle of people coming to their feet inside. After another brief moment, the ushers opened the door.

When the doors had opened, and the bride and her father stepped in, music started playing again. But this time, it wasn't the organ, it was the piano. And it wasn't the Wedding March.

It was a slow melody. The beat was such that it was easy for Aelita and her father to match is rhythm. Soon after they entered, someone started playing a flute. When she got about half way to the front, a voice started singing.

Jeremie's.

Aelita had never heard Jeremie sing before. His voice was shaky, either from nerves or lack of training or what, but she didn't care. It was beautiful. She listened and recognized the song, Color My World, and also realized that he had changed the lyrics. Instinctively, Aelita felt, then knew what was happening. He was singing his marriage vows to her. She began to feel power and bindings form that she hadn't felt in years.

Aelita had arrived at the front row of the sanctuary just as he finished. Her father had stopped a few steps back, as if prompted by some agency, letting her proceed on her own. The music was still playing, and Aelita knew what she must do.

She sang her vows back to Jeremie. Now, the binding she felt settled upon herself, just as she knew it had settled on Jeremie while he was singing. She sang her love and dedication back to him, just as he had sung his love and dedication to her. The piano and flute stopped with a flourish after Aelita had finished, like they all had rehearsed and choreographed it. Ulrich, who had been playing the piano, stood up from it and joined the groom's party at the front. Yumi set down the flute she had been playing.

As Aelita finished her song to him, Jeremie stepped down and reached his hand to hers. She took it, and stepped up to join him.

Father Benoit was looking at the event with some disbelief. Jeremie had told him on Thursday evening that they were going to change the ceremony, as a surprise to Aelita, but he never anticipated this! But, he could feel the Spirit here, and knew enough not to fight with it. Mentally tossing the book away, he spoke.

"Who here really believes that these two are not, or should not be joined in Holy Matrimony?"

Silence.

"Jeremie Belpois and Aelita Hopper, you have bonded yourselves together in Holy Matrimony, but I ask you once again, do you take each other as husband and wife, flesh of your flesh, bone of your bone, until death do you part?"

"Yes," Jeremie and Aelita replied.

"Will you cherish the other more than yourself, forsaking all others, and cleave to only the other?"

"Yes."

"Will you heal their hurts, bind their wounds, comfort their grief, share their joy?"

"Yes, we will."

"Then before God the Father, His Son, and the Holy Ghost, and before this congregation, I proclaim that you are husband and wife. Husband, kiss your wife, Wife, kiss your husband."

At that, Aelita and Jeremie kissed deeply.

As they embraced, Yumi and Ulrich stepped up to the couple. Yumi slipped a ring on Jeremie's finger, and Ulrich slipped one on Aelita's. The rings were identical, white gold rings that looked like chain circlets. If you looked closer, you would see that Ulrich, Yumi, Odd and Sissi all wore similar rings.

Then, Ulrich pulled out a thin, white gold chain. Tossing one end of the chain to Yumi, Ulrich formed a loop with his end and placed it over Jeremie's head. Yumi did the same to Aelita with her end.

The stood back, and Ulrich spoke, "It is customary in wedding services for the bride and groom to exchange rings along with their vows. We, their friends have done this for them, to remind them of their bond together."

Then Yumi spoke, "the silver chain is an outward sign of the inward bond they have made between themselves. Let those who see these rings also see the chain as well, and trifle with the bond it signifies at their peril."

Then the whole wedding party, bridesmaids and groomsmen both, said as one, "that which God has forged together, let no man DARE put asunder!"

Father Benoit, reeling with the total loss of control over the situation, did the only thing he could.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my great honor to present to you Mr. and Mrs. Jeremie Belpois. God Bless the happy couple!"

At that, the crowd stood up and applauded. And it seemed, at least to Father Benoit, that Heaven itself cheered, too.


	6. One Final Confrontation

The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.

* * *

The reception was a blur of faces, pictures being taken, laughter and music. Aelita talked her father into staying for the reception, and he allowed himself to be convinced.

Her dreams came true when Franz Hopper led her out on the dance floor for the Father's Last Dance. They moved and swayed for what seemed like only a second, before Franz stepped back and allowed Jeremie to have the Husband's First Dance. The rest of the evening was passed by in a blur, and finally, it was time to go home.

Ulrich drove Jeremie and Aelita back to the Hermitage. Odd had said he would take Franz back to the Old Factory Building and get him back to Lyoko. Odd wasn't doing the transfer himself; Franz would set everything up on a delay, then get down to the scanners before the sequence started. Aelita was relieved.

Ulrich pulled up to the house and said, "next stop, marital bliss!"

He got out and opened the door for Aelita, while Jeremie got out on the other side. She kissed Ulrich's cheek when she stepped out and thanked him for everything.

"Thanks, Ulrich. I really appreciate you and Yumi being here," Jeremie told Ulrich, hugging him hard.

"That's okay. We're here for you both, anytime you need us, anywhere," Ulrich replied. He took a look at his watch and said, "shoot! I've gotta get going. Yumi'll skin me alive if I'm late!"

"Late, for what?" Jeremie asked.

"You'll find out for yourself soon enough, Einstein," was Ulrich's reply. He chuckled to himself, got back in his car, and left.

"After you, my Queen," Jeremie said as he bowed and swept his hand towards the front door, "your castle awaits you."

"No my King, my castle awaits You," she replied, and walked to the door, Jeremie right behind her.

When they got to the door, Jeremie opened it wide, then scooped up Aelita off her feet squealing in surprise and carried her inside.

Once inside, he put her down, then closed the door.

"Welcome home, love," she told him as she enfolded him in her embrace. They stood there for a long moment, then she broke free and stepped back.

"I'm going upstairs, now," she told him with a wink, "don't be too far behind or you won't get to find out what Ulrich was talking about."

"Yes, ma'am," Jeremie replied has she walked up the stairs.

When she had left, Jeremie went over to a chair, took off his tux jacket, folded it, and draped it over the back of the chair. He then placed both hands on the chair back, and leaned forward, supporting himself.

_The day I've been waiting for has arrived, _he thought to himself, _it will finally be okay._

_Oh Yes, it will be. She'll be the tastiest piece of ass I've ever had,_ something ugly from the past whispered in the back of his mind, _I've waited a long time to have my way with her, and my revenge on you._

_No! I won't let you!_

_What will you do, boy, never touch her? Never accept her embrace? I will have just as much revenge in yours and her despair as I would if I did ravage her._

_I won't give in to you! I won't let you touch her!_

_Your resolve has been strong, boy, but it's not that strong. And I'll always be here, waiting._

_I'll die before I let you hurt her!_

_That would work too! To have you and her separated by death, sundered before you were well and truly joined! I could play the despair in her heart like a violin. It would be wonderful!_

_Oh God, Help Me! _Jeremie pleaded while the vile ghost of a memory laughed.

Upstairs, Aelita was in the master bathroom. She had just finished putting on the almost-nothing there nightgown she had purchased just for tonight. She turned to go into the bedroom when she froze.

Deep in the back of her mind, Aelita heard Jeremie's silent _Help Me!_

_It's that damn nightmare! Jeremie's in trouble!_ Her mind raced.

_Be gentle with him._

Yumi's words came back to her. She paused a moment, came to a decision, removed her nightgown, and went downstairs.

* * *

Jeremie was still downstairs, wrestling with his inner demon, when he heard a soft movement behind him.

"Jeremie?"

He turned around, and there was Aelita, standing at the foot of the stairway, naked.

No, she wasn't naked, she was nude. Naked implied something bad, something shameful. There was no shame here. Aelita stood before him with out clothes, just as a queen would stand dressed in her finest linens. There was not shame in her eyes, or pity, only love, great love.

"Jeremie, I finally know what you've been going through all these years. You've been afraid of coming to me because you thought you would hurt me if you did."

Jeremie tried to say something, but couldn't. The look on his face confirmed the truth of her words.

"You won't hurt me; you never have and you never will. It's not in you. A long time ago, something wounded you in your heart. But it's a dream, Jeremie, a foul, evil dream. It can never cause to harm me, or anybody. All you have to do is trust yourself."

"Jeremie, I trust you. I have faith in you and I believe in you. And I want to give myself to you to prove it, whatever happens."

"Come with me, Jeremie. Come to my bed. Come to Our Bed."

She held her hand out to him and something flashed in his mind and soul. For a moment, Jeremie saw the bond between them, a thin silver chain that was always there even though it wasn't, flash bright. That evil little voice in the back of his head, the one that haunted him for so many years, fled before the light of it. And Jeremie was finally Free.

He took her hand and let her lead him upstairs. To Their Bed.

* * *

As it turned out, he did devour her, just not in the way he had feared all these years. That night, he finally saw the lie for what it was. This hunger didn't take, it gave. Flesh wasn't destroyed or consumed by it, it was made whole. And one didn't die as a result of it, both were reborn.

She was gentle with him. If he would hesitate, she would stop and tell him that it was alright, that he wouldn't hurt her, just as she did all those years ago when he was last trapped in the demon's grip. He trusted her and was rewarded with a joy nothing in life had prepared him for.

* * *

As she led him upstairs, her anticipation and excitement grew. It was finally Time! Time for Them!

When they entered the bedroom, he held and caressed her a moment, trying to express all of the desire he had wanted to express to her for all of those long years they waited in that short instant. She sank bck into him, enjoying the sensations, letting him express his true feelings. Then, almost reluctantly, she broke free of him, and prepared him for what would come next.

When he was ready, she lay in their bed, and bid him come take his rightful place. He did, and as they came together, all of the fears and frustrations, the hopelessness and despair of the long dark wait washed away, replaced by a pleasure and joy that they could barely contain within themselves.

Afterwards, as Jeremie settled onto her shoulder after their last time, Aelita reached over to the nightstand next to her, opened a drawer and pulled something out, a foil packet. She opened it, and removed the disk within. She regarded it a moment, memories returning to the night Yumi first gave it to her, admonishing her to use it the first time she was with Jeremie. She knew why Yumi told her what she did, because her friend thought that night, after the Autumn Harvest Dance during her freshman year, would be their first time, and she would need the protection a condom provided. Of course, events didn't play out that way, but she always kept it, vowing to at least open it when the Day finally came.

Aelita turned off the night light and saw the condom glowing greenish in the new dark. She set it on the nightstand and settled down to sleep.

* * *

Franz Hopper walked towards the console seat, his neck still chafing from the collar of the tuxedo shirt he was wearing. He sat down and began typing at the keyboard of the console there.

"Are you sure you'll be alright, Franz?" asked the blond heading young man standing in the elevator.

"Yes, Odd, I'll be fine," the older man, Franz Hopper replied, "go have fun. I just hope Jeremie and Aelita don't kill you for what you're planning."

"Nah," replied Odd, "they'll love it!"

With that, the elevator door closed. Franz was finally alone.

He typed at the console, opening one of his back doors into the supercomputer, the last one.

_Jeremie's a smart one, I'll say that for him,_ Franz thought to himself, _I was afraid that this one wouldn't be here._

He typed for a while longer. Then, satisfied with what he had done, he started another program and began speaking. He spoke for a while, then logged off the console.

He took the elevator down to the next level where the scanners were. There were the clothes he wore when he was materialized that morning, and the bag the tuxedo had come in. He changed back into his own clothes, stuffed the receipt for the tux in his pocket, and looked about him.

He would miss all of this, all of them, but he knew it was time. Time to face the music. He could already feel the effects beginning, a headache building, slight tremors in his hands. Within a couple of hours, he would probably be unconscious. Soon after that, he would be dead.

Death didn't bother Franz Hopper any more. The thought of being erased, as if he never existed, did. Oh, he knew that it would be years before it came to that, but it would come to that, if he returned to Lyoko.

He made this decision a long time ago, when Jeremie's first materialization test succeeded. He was a person, not a packet of data, and he would die like one.

At least he was able to touch his daughter one last time, to dance with her for a moment. At least he knew she would be taken care of by her new husband.

Franz Hopper went back to the elevator, and took it up to the main level of the Old Factory Office Building. He walked to the entrance and left.


	7. Unexpected Guests

The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.

* * *

It was two in the morning. Jeremie was resting peacefully in Aelita's arms, sleeping. His slow, rhythmic breathing was soothing to her as she too began her slide into sleep.

_CRASH! BANG BANG BANG!_

Aelita sat bold upright, throwing Jeremie off of her. He hit the other side of the bed and startled awake.

"What the heck..."

_CRASH! BANG! BANG! BANG!_

Someone was singing at the top of their lungs, off key, just outside. After a second, three other voices joined in. This went on for a moment, then the banging started up again as they started shouting things to the couple. The suggestions were all colorful and imaginative, and some of them sounded physically impossible.

Aelita was sitting up in the bed, trying to keep her laughter under control. Jeremie got up, wrapped a sheet around his waist, went to the window and shouted out, "what the hell's going on here! Its freakin' 2 am and you just woke us up!"

Outside, in front of the gate, were four people. They were wearing masks, and they had pots and pans and were alternately beating them, singing off key or shouting.

"Well, now that you've had a chance to catch you breath, you best get back to it, husband! You've got a lot of catching up to do!"

That came from Sissi Delmas, Jeremie realized.

That meant that Odd, Ulrich and Yumi must be down there too. Jeremie mentally reassessed the physical impossibility of some of the things they shouted then.

"Sons of bitches must die," Jeremie muttered to himself.

"Well husband, you had better let us come in, or we'll serenade you all night!" that was from Yumi, of all people!

"You idiots had better get out of here before the police show up! On second thought, too late, run! The cops are here!" Jeremie shouted.

Sure enough, a police cruiser pulled up to the Hermitage, and two police officers stepped out. They walked up to the group, and spoke for a few minutes. Then one of the officers, and older man, laughed suddenly and shook his head. He said something to his partner, then opened the gate and walked up to the house.

"Sir! Could you come down here a moment?" the officer called to Jeremie.

Jeremie nodded, and pulled back in the window. "Great," he said, "Odd's done something stupid and the cops showed up. What a thing to happen tonight!"

He went to his suitcase, which Aelita brought upstairs that morning, dug into it and found a T-shirt and sweatpants. He put them on and went downstairs. While he was doing that, Aelita got up, found clothes of her own, and began dressing.

When Jeremie got to the front door and opened it, he saw the police officer. The man was an older man, and he had this strange smile on his face.

"I'm sorry, sir for disturbing you on this special night," the officer began, "but I have spoken to the people in front here, and they claim to be friends of yours. Is that so?"

"Yes sir, it is, unfortunately," Jeremie told him, "my friend, Odd has a, well, odd sense of humor. But I don't understand this at all, I'm afraid."

"I think I can help you with that, sir," the officer replied, "your friends are throwing a _charivari_ for you."

"A what?"

"A _charivari._ It is a very old custom, not really practiced anymore. What happens is that the friends of a newlywed couple would come to their house, generally at an inopportune moment, and create a row. They would beat pots and pans, shout and sing at the couple, and carry on until the gentleman of the house would come to the door and invite them in. The newlyweds would be expected to provide a small meal for their unexpected guests, and they would carry on for a while. The raucousness was a way of chasing evil spirits away from the newlywed's home, for evil spirits cannot abide the noise."

"I can understand that," Jeremie said, "but what am I to do?"

"Well, sir, you can either invite them in, or have them arrested. I have already told them that I will take them in if you say so."

By this time, Aelita had joined Jeremie at the front door, and had heard the officer's explanation of events. She shook her head no.

"I, I guess I'll let them in, sir," Jeremie finally said, "they are my friends. Besides, I don't think locking them up is a good enough punishment." The police officer laughed and started back down to the gate.

"Very well, sir; thank you very much. And congratulations on your nuptials."

The officer returned to the group and spoke to Odd. Jeremie waived them all to come up to the house and they did. The officer said one last thing to Odd, returned to his patrol car and left.

The four carolers ran to the front door, clanging and banging their makeshift instruments all the way. When they entered, Sissi Delmas, wearing a fox mask, grabbed Jeremie and dragged him away to the living room. Ulrich, wearing the mask of a samurai, did the same with Aelita. The other two, Odd wearing a rabbit mask and Yumi wearing a geisha mask, came in the door and ran upstairs, banging their pots all the time.

"Let all evil spirits that dwell in this house begone! Let this couple have their rest for a time!" they shouted from upstairs, "blessings upon this couple! Peace and Joy to them!"

"The only evil spirits I can see in this house at the moment are the ones I just let in!" Jeremie shouted from the living room, "we were fine until you started your caterwauling!"

Sissi put on some music, then grabbed Jeremie and started to dance with him around the room.

"Lighten up, Jeremie! We're doing this only because we love you..." Then, she pulled him close and added in a softer voice, "and in payback for a case of _coitus interruptus_ you inflicted on us years ago." She then gave him a warm kiss to dull the sting of her last remark. Jeremie blushed in remembrance of the incident as well as for the kiss.

Aelita and Ulrich, in the meantime, were dancing a more stately dance to the music. "I'm sorry Aelita, it was Odd's idea. But he did do it because he loves you both."

"He has a rather odd way of showing it," Aelita replied.

Odd and Yumi then joined them in the living room.

"Well, we got rid of the evil spirits up there!" he called triumphantly from under his rabbit mask.

"Yeah, they came down here," Jeremie deadpanned, "tell me, Mr. Della Robbia, where would you like your remains interred?"

"Oh, any old cat box will do," he replied, smiling, "say, I'm hungry. Where's the feast?"

"Ah, so that explains my full larder," Aelita piped in, "I guess I should go and prepare something."

"Let's all help," Yumi said from under her geisha mask, and they went to the kitchen. All, except Sissi.

In the kitchen, Aelita and Yumi set out sandwich fixings, finger foods, wine and beer. Ulrich and Odd took a beer, Yumi and Aelita wine. Jeremie contented himself with a cup of tea.

"Where's Sissi," Aelita asked, "I don't know what she wants to drink."

"She's probably in the bathroom," Odd replied, "she's been doing that a lot lately."

"Really?" asked Ulrich.

"Yeah, ever since she found out she was pregnant."

"Pregnant!" everyone shouted.

"Surprise! Odd's going to be a papa!" Odd told them, grinning.

"That's right my prince," Sissi said walking into the kitchen, "and I'll have a cup of tea, if you please."

There was hugs and handshakes all around at the happy news.

"So, I guess that means you're going to have to settle down now," Ulrich asked his friend.

"Yeah, a little, but I'll still be ready if there's ever need," Odd replied.

"We'll be ready," Sissi corrected.

"So, does that mean we will have to make another trip to Paris for another wedding?" Yumi asked.

"Nope, we're going down to the clerk's office on Monday. We're going to have a civil ceremony. Besides, it's only providing documentation for an already given fact," Sissi said.

The friends talked and joked for a little while longer, then it was 4 am. The revelers, made their goodbyes, each kissing both the husband and the wife, and took their leave.

As Aelita closed the front door, Jeremie said, "I guess I'll have to put off killing Odd now that he's going to be a father and all."

"Well, you know what they say," Aelita replied smiling, "if a man has led a wild life, God blesses him with daughters."

With that, the couple went back upstairs to bed, laughing.

* * *

There was one last surprise waiting for them. When they entered their bedroom, they noticed that there was something making a noise _in_ their bed.

As they walked up to the bed, they saw what looked like some kind of doll laying underneath the covers on Jeremie's side of the bed. The doll had pink hair and was wearing a toy princess tiara. The mouth area of the doll had obviously been designed so something could be inserted in it, and there was. Jeremie withdrew the object, and found he was holding an anatomically correct penis, made out of some kind of soft rubber, a dildo.

Looking back at the doll now, the couple heard a buzzing noise coming from it, the noise they heard when they walked in. They started laughing again.

The doll was an inflatable sex toy, and the buzzing was coming from the vibrator built into the doll's mouth.

"Daughters, definitely daughters," Jeremie said.

They laughed again and Aelita went to her side of the bed and threw back the covers.

There, the next surprise was revealed.

On the bed sheet was a spot of blood. That was somewhat expected, but what was around it wasn't. Someone had drawn a great big heart around the spot, and drawn an arrow through the heart. Next to the drawing, that someone had written:

_In this day and age, who would have thought?_

_Love and Kisses Always,_

_Sissi & Odd_

_PS: the doll was Odd's idea._

"Beautiful, alluring daughters, as wild as their mother," Aelita said.

They laughed again and started to climb into bed, when Jeremie said, "what's this?"

He had, while Aelita was reading Sissi's note, turned off the vibrator and pulled the doll out of the bed. Underneath the head of the doll was some kind of book. It looked very old, and was full of drawings. The book was carefully opened to a particular page, and there was a note stuck between the pages. On the pages themselves were beautiful pictures that looked like Japanese watercolors or woodblock paintings, with fine Japanese _kanji_ characters written down the sides. The couple looked at the book, then looked more closely.

The picture showed a man and a woman making love. The book was a Japanese "pillow book," or sex manual.

They both blushed and laughed, and Aelita took the note and opened it. She read:

_My Sister,_

_This book has been passed from mother to daughter in my family for years. I thought you might find some use for it for a little while, but I will need it back._

_Nothing can stand against you, as long as you stand together._

_Love,_

_Yumi and Ulrich_

_PS: Ulrich and I love this particular one. We enjoy it for hours on end! Y&U_

They looked at each other, then back at the book, then back at each other again. Then, they smiled.

Yumi was right, they did enjoy it for hours on end...


	8. Tragic News

The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.

* * *

Mrs. Aelita Belpois opened her eyes and reached her arm over to her lover. Her arm found nothing. She lazily rolled over and looked at the alarm clock, which told her it was 11:13 in the morning.

She stretched, rubbing her legs together under the sheets, reveling in the sensations the friction produced. It had been four days since the wedding, four wonderful days where the only thing she had to worry about was when and where Jeremie was going to jump her next.

_Well, he certainly is keeping his promise about making up for lost time,_ she thought to herself.

A thought entered her mind, and she got up. She wasn't wearing anything; except for Monday, when they went down to the courthouse to see Odd and Sissi finally get married, they hadn't bothered dressing since their friends left early Sunday morning after their little surprise party. She walked very softly towards the bathroom, thinking he might be there.

_I think it's time for a little payback._

When she got to the bathroom, it was empty. Disappointed, she crept out of the bedroom, searching for him. When she got to the top of the stairs, she heard noises coming from the kitchen. She was about to creep downstairs and jump him when she heard the doorbell ring.

_Drat! Foiled Again!_

She turned back upstairs to dress and greet her visitors. She heard Jeremie go to the front door and open it.

She threw on a tee-shirt and a pair of sweat pants, and joined the group downstairs. As she walked down, she saw her uncle Desmond Hopper, Aunt Marie and Father Benoit, the priest that married them, standing in the doorway. Whatever had been said while she was dressing must have been serious, because Jeremie was visibly upset.

"Hi everybody, what's the occasion? What's wrong Jeremie?" she asked.

Jeremie said, almost crying, "Aelita, there's no good way to say this, so I'll just say it. It's about your father. He's dead."

Aelita's scream of anguish was heard by the entire neighborhood.

* * *

This part of the hospital was quiet. There wasn't the bustling of nurses and assistants, no doctor's talking with patients or each other, no heroic deeds being performed. This was where the losers came in the game of Life and Death.

Jeremie Belpois held his new wife close to him as they walked down the hall. On her other side, Desmond Hopper helped support them. They reached their destination and entered.

The room was cool. Along one wall was rows and rows of square metal doors, the lockers where they stored the bodies. The attendant motioned to them, and they approached one of the lockers.

"Aelita, are you sure you want to see this?" Jeremie asked her. She nodded her head yes in reply, tears still flowing down her face.

"Alright," Desmond said, and the attendant opened the locker and pulled the tray out. On it was a long plastic bag. It was translucent, not transparent, but you could make out that the remains of a person was contained within.

"He was found by the police at a park on the far side of the city Tuesday morning," the attendant said, "by the time he was found, it was too late. He didn't have any ID on him or we would have contacted you sooner. The only way we were able to identify him at all was from a receipt for a tuxedo rental we found. That's why I called you first, Mr. Hopper. You were listed on the ticket, so it was a long shot."

"I understand completely sir," Desmond replied, "now we must finish this unpleasant business."

The attendant nodded and opened the bag. Aelita wailed and collapsed when she saw her father lying there.

Desmond merely nodded and the attendant quickly closed the bag and slid the tray back in the locker. Desmond then helped Jeremie pick his wife up and escort her from the room.

They had just left the morgue and reentered the hallway when they met four people. The attendant emerged from the room, calling to Desmond, stating that there were arrangements that still needed to be made. Aelita noticed none of this.

What she did notice were the four people who just joined them. Her eyes locked on one of them, a blond-haired young man, and she leaped.

"You murdering BASTARD!"

She struck him with an open hand, square in his solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him. The force of the blow knocked him back against the wall, but she didn't stop. She quickly merged with her target and struck out with a clawed hand, but at the last second, her blow was blocked by somebody. She twisted and struck again, throwing the erstwhile defender off to the side, then turned back to her target.

By this time, Jeremie and the other two people jumped on Aelita and dragged her away from her victim.

"Odd Della Robbia, you stupid, fucking excuse for a friend! I swear before God Almighty I will kill you! I'm going to tear off your head and shit down your neck, you no good, murdering, son of a bitch; you goddamned slacker! You..."

"Aelita, I didn't do anything!" Odd shouted back at her, shaken at her anger and rage, over and above the grief he was already feeling, as well has his own feelings of guilt, "I took him back to the factory! He was setting up to transfer back in when I left! I had no idea this would happen!"

"'Lita, he did what he was supposed to do," Sissi Della Robbia said from the floor. It was she who first blocked Aelita's first attack on Odd.

"YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED WITH HIM!" Aelita raged, "YOU SHOULD HAVE MADE SURE HE MADE IT BACK! I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU! NEVER! NEVER! NEVER!"

As she screamed her hatred, she struggled to escape the grip of the ones holding her, the ones keeping her from exacting her righteous revenge.

By this time, Hospital Security arrived, along with a doctor. Aelita was still struggling to escape the grasp of her husband, Ulrich and Yumi Stern, and Desmond Hopper. The doctor ultimately had to give Aelita a sedative to quiet her down.

After she was unconscious, Jeremie said to Odd and Sissi, "look, she doesn't mean it. It's just shock, that's all. Come tomorrow, she'll be over it and be wanting to apologize."

Sissi nodded. Odd just looked down and said, "I know, but she's right."


	9. The Confession Of Franz Hopper

The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.

* * *

It was several days before Franz Hopper's body was released for burial. The police wanted an autopsy done to determine why he died, to rule out any chance of foul play.

For the first two days, Aelita had to remain sedated. On the third day, she was awake, but sullen. The only emotion she showed was when Odd stopped by to try and apologize to her. Aelita went into another fit and had to be restrained and sedated again.

On the fourth day, the Medical Examiner released the body to the family. The Coroner's Report listed the cause of death as, "Natural, But Unknown." The Coroner also recommended that the body be cremated, since it was beginning to rapidly decay.

Desmond Hopper made all of the arrangements. There would be a brief service at the crematorium, with just family and close friends in attendance. Jeremie told his wife in no uncertain words that Odd and Sissi _would_ be there, and so _would_ she, and she _would not_ lay a hand on them or utter a word against them that day. Aelita just nodded in acknowledgment.

* * *

That evening, as Jeremie was preparing for bed, he heard a sound coming from the study. He went in and saw a prompt on Aelita's workstation screen, something unusual since she hadn't logged in.

The prompt said:

_I request the presence of Mr. & Mrs. Jeremie Belpois. Press return when they are present._

Jeremie pressed the return key. A second later, another prompt displayed:

_Jeremie, go get Aelita and come back here. Press return when you've got her._

Jeremie looked in surprise at the screen. _That's pretty sophisticated programming, _he thought to himself,_ whoever did it must have somehow tapped into the video cam on the terminal, and did some kind of pattern match on our faces. Now what's this all about?_

He left the study and quickly returned with Aelita. She was complaining that she wasn't in the mood for games, but he quickly explained what was going on. They both sat before the monitor, then Jeremie pressed the return key again.

The display cleared, and the image of Franz Hopper resolved itself onto the screen.

* * *

"First of all, I apologize for the deception," Franz Hopper said, "I never intended to reenter Lyoko, and I'm sorry for the grief you are going through."

"If I am still alive, consider this my Living Will. I, Franz Hopper direct you to take no heroic measures to save or preserve my life. I direct that no feeding tube, or any artificial means of supporting or saving my life be utilized. If such are currently being employed, I direct you to cease and desist all measures. It is my express wish to die if I cannot support my own life functions."

"Now, you may be sitting there, blaming yourselves or Odd for what happened. You may be thinking that I would still be alive right now if you found me soon enough to get me back and into the scanners. But you would be wrong."

"When Odd left me, I was accessing the last back door I had into the computer's administrator account. Once I was in, I ran a series of programs that in essence made it impossible for me to ever be returned to Lyoko. Given the nature of my physical affliction, you would have never found the code and removed it in time."

"I know that this is a shock to you both, especially you, Jeremie. You were working so hard on getting me out, you never heard my suggestions that you abandon your quest. I would have been content with remaining on Lyoko with Zoe and the others; that is, until you succeeded the first time. When, for those few moments I actually tasted the air, saw the world and felt your touch, I knew I could never again be satisfied with just Lyoko. I should have insisted you not return me then."

"I literally prayed you would find the correct sequence. Zoe even asked me once what I was doing. When I told her I was praying, she asked me what that was. When I explained it to her, she said, 'ah, you are communicating with your creator. Has it responded?' She was disappointed when I said no. Quite frankly, so was I."

"I finally realized that My Creator had communicated with me, and He was saying No."

"I am guilty of a great sin, the sin of Pride. Many years ago, I created something, a device that should have enabled free and open communications the whole world over. I was proud of what I accomplished, and so was my wife Rose."

"But then, the Government took my invention and turned it into a weapon. Not only that, they shoved me aside and had other people take my work and pervert it further. I was enraged."

"I struck back by secretly building the computer you've been using all these years. I took a gift that was given to me many years ago, and used it to take my petty revenge. And I paid the price for doing it."

"Even today, you are feeling the effects of my deeds. In wreaking my revenge, I created a monster, XANA. What was once my servant and helper, became my jailer and tormentor. And to make matters worse, my pride almost cost me my most precious possession, my daughter."

"That day, when we escaped into Lyoko, I thought we were safe. But XANA laid a trap for me, and Aelita fell into it. It stole a good portion of her memories, leaving her barely functional but mindless. I had thought I lost you then and there, Princess."

"So I made a deal with the Devil. I would surrender myself to XANA, if it would restore your memories. Unfortunately, the way I stated the bargain gave XANA the option to give you memories, but not all, and not necessarily _yours_."

"Your personality was returned, and you knew who you were. But you thought you were a computer program, an Artificial Intelligence like XANA. All the rest of your memories were held back."

"I tried to refuse, to back out of my bargain, but XANA wouldn't let me. It said it would erase you bit by bit if I didn't cooperate. In order to save you, I surrendered. And I paid."

"For years, XANA would invade my mind, probe my memories for the information it required. When it found something, it took what it found, then would leave me in darkness. By the time I was able to contact you the first time, my entire personality had just about broken down."

"But I did manage to contact you, and to this day I can't thank Sissi Delmas enough. I know it was a trial for her, but she gave me the one lifeline I needed to get my message to you. And it worked."

"I regret my actions after you rescued me. I still couldn't tell reality from my nightmares. To this day I question myself sometimes. When those times came, Zoe always did her best to soothe my heart. Without her, and the others she made, I would have never recovered as much as I have."

"Now there is one last thing I must tell you. Earlier, I said I took the gift that was _given_ _me_ to take my revenge. The last thing I want you both to know is the truth, _I did not design the supercomputer, my wife and Aelita's mother, did._"

Jeremie and Aelita's eyes went wide in surprise at that statement.

"I met Rose, or Rho Zoe as she first referred to herself, about twelve years before you were born, Aelita. Rose was not_ human_ in the normal sense of the word when I first found her. This is the first time I have been allowed to utter that truth since she came into my life."

"She came to me from far in the future, but not Earth's future. She came from _Lyoko's_ _future_. I have more knowledge of the truth of where she came from and why, but I cannot speak it. She somehow did something to me that prevents me from accessing it, just as she prevented me from revealing the truth about her origin until just now. But the knowledge is there, in Lyoko, and is accessible."

"In Lyoko there is a place. To access it, access coordinates six-hundred-sixty-six degrees south by negative six-hundred-sixty-six degrees west. I know it sounds improbable, but the coordinates will be accepted. When you arrive there, the rest of the truth will be revealed to you."

"I must go now, to meet my Maker and Judge. I have much to answer for, but for the first time in a long time, I feel that I'm ready to face it."

"I Love You Both Forever. Good Bye and God Bless."

* * *

The funeral was brief. The mortician told Desmond Hopper that it almost wasn't worth cremating the body, there was so little left. But they did, and brought the urn containing Franz Hopper's ashes to Aelita and Jeremie.

Desmond and Marie Hopper were there for the memorial, along with Ulrich and Yumi Stern. Odd and Sissi Della Robbia arrived last, fearing what would happen when they encountered Aelita again.

When Aelita saw Odd, she broke down into tears, ran over to him and threw herself at his feet. "Odd, I'm so sorry," she cried, not looking up at him, "I didn't mean those awful things I said that day! I'm so ashamed!" Odd and Sissi said nothing, they just knelt down and hugged Aelita to themselves, all three crying.

They took the urn containing the remains of Franz Hopper to the Old Factory Building, down to the computer lab. There, they placed it so it could always be seen when one entered the room, or when one sat at the console.


	10. The Revelation Of Rho Zoe

The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.

* * *

They waited a few days before they followed Franz's instructions. His passing so soon after Jeremie and Aelita married wounded them both deeply, and they needed time to heal.

Jeremie played Franz's final message to both Desmond and Marie, and Odd and Sissi. He then told them of his intentions.

"Are you sure, Jeremie?" Desmond said, "I don't think those coordinates will be accepted by the transfer program."

"Franz said they would," Jeremie replied, "will you help us?"

"Of course," Desmond replied.

* * *

When they materialized into Lyoko, they found themselves in a large, dark, empty space. At the center of that space was a glowing presence. They approached it.

Standing there in the middle of the light was a woman. She stood there watching them, smiling as she waited. Aelita immediately recognized the woman.

"Mother!"

"Yes and No, my child," the woman said, "yes, I am an echo of Rho Zoe, or Rose Hopper, the woman that carried you in her womb for nine months and in her heart forever; but no, I am not her. I am only a pale copy, a projection of what she was."

"I was placed here by her as a message to you both," the woman continued, "I am here to tell you that you will be fighting the remnants of XANA's evil for years to come."

"We know that, ma'am," Jeremie said.

"I know you do, Jeremie my son," she replied, "but what you don't know is that what I just said isn't prophesy to me, it is history."

"I came from far in the future, Lyoko's future. One day, years from now, you will finally reduce XANA's minions to a level that it will never be able to reconstitute itself. And when that day comes, you will turn off this computer."

"But that would destroy Zoe and her people!" Jeremie said.

"Yes, it would," Rho Zoe replied, "but before you turn off the computer, you will free Lyoko from the computer."

"It was my mission was to see to it that Franz Hopper built this computer, so Lyoko would be created. I gave Franz the technology to build the first computer, Carthage, the one that the French co-opted for their defense program. I gave him the technology to build this computer. I gave him the ability to create XANA, as well as the other creatures of Lyoko, including Zoe and her people."

"You see, I am the descendant of Zoe, her many times great-granddaughter. In my time, we females honor Zoe by making Her Name part of ours. That means, Aelita, you are a descendant of Zoe too. And when you gave her access to your DNA, you were helping her build me, which in turn helped me build you."

Aelita's eyes widened in surprise. She remembered how close she came to _not_ contributing her DNA.

"In my time, Lyoko was starting to become unstable," Rho Zoe continued, "we knew this day would come because of the message I'm giving you right now. I was sent back to this time, to this place, with the technology I have stored within me, so my world can be created. I know it's hard to believe or understand, but I am a living Möbius strip, locked in an infinite time loop. It was our hope that by sending me back in time to insure Lyoko got created, Lyoko would continue to exist past my leaving. Alas, I will never know if that is true."

"My last mission was to see to it you were born, Aelita. That was the most joyous and most frightening part of my whole mission."

"When I first came to Earth, I was afraid of what I would find when I met Franz. In a lot of ways, Franz Hopper was the equivalent of your Devil to my people. But your father was nothing like what I had feared. He was a quiet and meek man, polite to a fault. It was so easy to fall in love with him. It shames me to this day that I had to do to him what I did, to lock this information in his mind, against his will, and never allow him to speak of it, or even think of it, until the proper time."

"But I repaid him as best as I could by giving such pleasure, joy and comfort as I could. And you were my finest gift to him, my daughter. I'm just sorry I wasn't there to see you grow up."

"Even though as I am recording this, I am a long way from that fateful day, I know that I will eventually die like your father will. My mental and physical systems will degrade just as his will. And it will be for the same reason, Jeremie, because matter in Lyoko is somewhat different than matter on Earth."

"In Lyoko, each atom is missing a few quantum particles necessary to stabilize it. This has always been the case, and there is no way around it. You never felt the effects because the dematerialization program accounted for all of the quantum particles in your bodies, and replicated them in Lyoko. When you rematerialized back in your world, all of your particles were reconstituted. The same is true for Aelita, since she originally entered Lyoko from Earth. The only things that are effected by this are things that originate in Lyoko."

"All those times that XANA attacked when it was still confined in the computer, the matter it was using was Lyokoan matter. Left alone, it would have broken down in twelve hours. With Franz, you unknowingly found a way to extend that time to forty-eight hours, not that it would do a life form any good. By my time, we extended that period to years, but not forever. So, one day, I'll die and almost literally vanish."

"Aelita, you and Jeremie still have Free Will, my actions have not changed that. You can do whatever you want with the information I have just given you. But in my past, you took this information and gave it to Zoe, who passed it on to her children. You found a way to detach Lyoko from the quantum-space bubble generated by this computer, and placed it in its own, self sustaining quantum space. I hope you will make my past a reality."

"Well, I've said my piece. No matter what you decide, I pray you have long lives together, full of Love and Joy. Perhaps, when you die, we shall really meet. Hopefully when I die, I will be reunited with your father, my love. Good Bye."

Aelita's mother left instructions on how to transfer the information she had stored to Zoe. There wasn't even a discussion, they just did it.

* * *

Over the next few weeks, Jeremie and Aelita both tried returning to the coordinates Franz Hopper left them, but never could. They poured over every log in the supercomputer, trying to find some trace of the place where the message of Aelita's mother was kept, but never found it.

They figured that when they transferred the information Rose had for Zoe, it erased and destroyed that memory area. The only evidence that Rho Zoe ever existed, other than Aelita, was gone. The newlyweds had yet another death to mourn.

But Life demanded to be lived, so after a time, they set aside their grief. They had each other at last, and a future to carve for themselves. XANA's followers were still out there, trying to resurrect their master, and had to be stopped.

And they also had to do whatever they could to insure that Rose Hopper's last wish was granted, and Lyoko freed from the supercomputer.


	11. Epilogue: Solo No More

The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.

* * *

"Tower, Cessna Niner Three Niner Golf Foxtrot turning from base to final, over."

"Roger Niner Golf Foxtrot, the pattern is clear. Taxi to One Able after landing, over."

"Wilco Tower, Niner Golf Foxtrot clear."

His hands were slick with sweat as he grasped the airplane's yoke, coordinating the three axes of the plane to complete his turn for the final approach to the runway. After completing the turn, he quickly brushed a wisp of blond hair out of her eyes. A drop of sweat had formed on one of the lenses of his glasses; not enough to hamper his vision, but enough to remind him just how nervous he was. The easy part was over, he thought to himself, now all he had to do was set the plane on the ground without crashing.

Jeremie Belpois went over the landing checklist in his mind again, making sure he had done everything that his instructor had taught him. He couldn't find a fault, so he continued on in.

The road to the cockpit of the Cessna 175 he was piloting today was about as strange as any person ever had to walk. It started started years ago with a computer, wound its way through things that Stephen King and William Gibson could barely imagine, and ended up in the arms of the most beautiful woman he ever knew.

He pushed in on the throttle, slowing the plane down. He adjusted the nose of the plane up, maintaining lift as he slowed. He adjusted his flaps to help his descent, always running his landing checklist through his mind.

Even though he was in the cockpit alone, Jeremie could feel her, his wife, his better half, the One that Completed Him, radiating her love and support from the ground up to him.

He was now over the runway, about fifty feet off the ground, he powered down more, keeping the nose level until just before touchdown when he brought the nose up. There was a _thump!_ and the screech of the wheels turning on the ground again, he brought the nose of the plane down and applied the brakes. The small aircraft came to a stop about two thirds of the way down the strip.

Jeremie let out a profound sigh of relief. _Any landing you walk away from is a good one, _he thought to herself. He applied a little power to the engine and made for taxiway 1A. From there, he taxied to the hanger where his instructor was waiting, along with other people.

He brought the plane to a stop, killed the engine, and completed his shutdown checklist. He then got out of the airplane and did a quick inspection of the craft. His instructor walked up to him.

"Ms. Belpois, give me your logbook and your student cert," he said sternly.

He handed the man her student flight certificate and flight log, having seen him do the same thing with Aelita just a few months before.

The instructor took the book, examined it for a moment, then made a notation. He then made a similar notation on Jeremie's student flight certificate. He then handed them back and smiled. "Congratulations, Jeremie, you just soloed."

"Nope," he replied, smiling, "I just flew the plane by myself. I'll never be solo again."


End file.
